From the Pastor - June 2006

I write this during the height of the appointment season. For those of you who haven't been United Methodists since John Wesley was born, the Bishop appoints United Methodist pastors. These appointments are made annually, and usually made during the first five months of the year. They are officially announced at Annual Conference (This year June 7-10), and become effective July 1st.

Needless to say, appointment season is very stressful for both clergy and members of Staff Parish Relations Committee. It also makes it hard to make plans. For example, just after Easter I was approached about a baptism later this summer. I had to say that I didn’t know if I’d be here or not. That meant that the parents had to decide whether to try and plan the baptism for May or June, or plan it for a time when I might not be able to perform the ceremony. They chose the latter, even though they really wanted me to perform the baptism. Still another family chose to pick a date in June when they could be certain that I’d be available.

Uncertainty can be a very difficult thing to deal with, and not just uncertainty of who our pastor will be starting next month. If you’ve ever had to wait for the results of medical tests, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Even getting bad news would be better than not knowing.

Life is filled with uncertainties. None of us can guarantee where we will be even an hour from now. As the late John Lennon put it, “life is what happens when we’re making plans.”

While we cannot avoid uncertainties, our faith can make us stronger to face them. The greatest prayer we can pray is the one Jesus prayed when faced with his own uncertainties, “Not my will, but yours.”

Pastor Tony